Monday, July 27, 2015

Thank you to those of you that got the Aladdin reference in the title.

I’ve realized something about myself. I thoroughly enjoy being alone. I love my husband, baby, cats, and family (not necessarily in that order) and the time I spend with them, but I thrive on alone time. Since becoming a mom I’ve added a fantasy dwelling to my list. This new fantasy is on a slightly smaller scale. Like a cozy, tiny house or chic studio apartment that I have all to myself.

Just to be clear, I could only live in something like these if I lived ALONE. But since in reality I have a wonderful husband, beautiful son, and two fat cats I would just settle for a Victorian home with bay windows, hardwood floors throughout, a wrap around porch, walk-in closet, secret reading nook, and theater room.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Cooper is now NOT the only Cooper in his class at daycare. There are seven kids in his class. Two out of seven babies in the nursery are named Cooper. What the heck?

When we were milling over baby names we didn’t mill much over boy names. We knew if we were having a boy he would be Cooper Timothy. We’ve known that for years. People are always asking where we got the name. Chris likes initial names; AJ, CJ, ect, ect. He really liked CT and asked when the time came to procreate that I find a name that could fit those initials. I wasn’t loving any C names I ran across. Until one day I was on the facebook page of a friend who bakes cakes for a living. I was flipping through her album of beautifully decorated birthday confections and saw the cutest little barnyard cake with the name Cooper on it. I thought it was a nice, unique name that I’d really never heard before as a first name. I said it out loud and the more I thought about it the more I could picture us a with a kid named Cooper. So Cooper has a barnyard cake to thank for his name.

As for the middle name, I poured over T names and couldn’t come up with any I liked enough that weren’t already in use by someone close to us. Chris suggested we use the name of his hero/man crush, Tim Tebow. At first I waved off the idea because I wasn’t going to name my kid after a Florida football player (Roll Tide). Then I got to thinking…Cooper Timothy sounds pretty good. And Tebow isn’t a bad guy to name a kid after! He’s a good, Christian guy who’s never afraid to stand up for what he believes even if it’s not popular. Not to mention athletically talented and a natural born leader. He’s what I would want my son to grow up to be like.
So Cooper Timothy it was!

That was probably four of five years ago and now Cooper is on the rise. Naturally.

I mentioned once or twice or a bunch of times before we found out he was a he that the name was gaining popularity and maybe we should at least entertain the idea of another name. Chris’s taste in baby names is vastly different from mine. Every name I threw at him to think about he vetoed instantly.

Even though I could pretty much guarantee there would be no other Phoenixes, Shepards, Olivers or Simons in his class.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

When I was browsing the “new” section at Barnes & Noble and saw the cover of this book and read the description I was immediately intrigued. An evil twist on Oz where Dorothy is a power hungry dictator, the scarecrow is a mad scientist, and flying monkeys are enslaved? Yes, please! I snatched it up and sat in one of their overstuffed chairs and read the first few chapters. From the time I started the book to the time I finished the book I had a baby and that baby grew to be five and a half months old. Don’t judge me. Any free time was spent sleeping.
Anywho.

The Good: I liked the spunky main character and felt for her, especially in the first couple of chapters. Her back story is pretty heartbreaking.
I LOVED the detailed descriptions of the people and places. If you’ve seen the movie (and who hasn’t?) it’s easy to picture the twisted, bleak, decrepit Oz detailed in the book. What is hard for me to get a mental image of is this new, sex pot, evil Princess of Oz, Dorothy. That’s probably because the pigtailed, wide-eyed version is so iconic. But you have to love the sound of her.
“This was not the same girl I'd read about. She was wearing the dress, but it wasn't the dress exactly--it was as if someone had cut her familiar blue-checked jumper into a million little pieces and then put it back together again, only better. Better and okay, a little bit more revealing. Actually, more than a little bit. Not that I was judging. Instead of farm-girl cotton it was silk and chiffon. The cut was somewhere between haute couture and French hooker. The bodice nipped, tucked, and lifted. There cleavage. Lots of cleavage"
Doesn’t that sound deliciously evil.The Bad: Sometimes, especially toward the beginning there are random f-bombs thrown in. Some are from the heroine but most are from a foul-mouthed, tattooed munchkin. Yes, you read that right. I’ve read books written for adults with lots of cussing but this is geared for a younger crowd (nevermind that I’m 27). The language at times seemed gratuitous.
At certain points around the middle the story started to creep along and got redundant. Toward the end it got suspenseful and I thought it would be a great ending. …then I realized it’s part of a series and I was actually left with NO ending. Womp womp.Bottom Line: It’s a cool, easy read that will give you completely different view of Oz and its inhabitants. The concept is one of the most interesting concepts I’ve ever read but it didn’t change my life. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Will I read the sequels? Probably not.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Hey, friends!
We took our first vacation with baby over the 4th of July. It was quite different! Different but very much the same. Days were spent lounging on the balcony and at the pool and nights were spent eating at our favorite tried and and true restaurants.

-We got Cooper in the sand and water for the first time! These are baby milestones and Chris and I were so excited to film them and get pictures. He liked the sand but wasn’t too sure about the waves. We don’t really hang out at the beach much so he only got in the sand once. The pool is more our thing. He LOVED the pool and being towed around in a little float I bought him.

-I didn’t get burned. Like at all. This is usually where I tell you I didn’t use enough sunscreen or stayed out too long and got burned here and there blah blah blah. Not this time, sucka! Sun – 384. Alyssa – 1.

-With so many people around holding Cooper, Mama got some time to sit on the balcony and read and actually finished the book I’ve been working on since December! Woohoo!!

-The weather was beautiful. The only day we saw rain was the day we left. Very appropriate.

I’m usually really depressed after vacation. Of course I didn’t want to leave. Life is so easy at the beach. But I didn’t mind coming back either. I don’t mind that I went back to work. I don’t mind that I'm sleeping in my own bed tonight. I actually feel really refreshed.
So we had a milestone! Baby's first family vacation! And it was every bit as wonderful as I imagined it would be.

And now that my beach vacation is gone fall can hurry up and make it’s way here!

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Whatup, playas? (Just trying it on. Don't think it works for me.)As you're reading this I am sitting on the tenth floor of the condo listening to the waves and eating chocolate chip cookies for breakfast. Yep. I'm on vacation. We got here in pretty good time yesterday with Coop Man. Only had to make one extra stop! Today will be spent lounging by the pool, getting CT in the water for the first time, lounging on the deck, reading my book, lounging in the room, and then seafood for dinner of course.